Carmina burana
Composer: Carl Orff
Librettist: Carl Orff
Company: Lyric Opera of Chicago
| Performance Dates | |
|---|---|
| Friday, November 14, 2025 | |
| Sunday, November 16, 2025 | Matinee |
| Tuesday, November 18, 2025 | |
Synopsis
Carmina Burana is a scenic cantata composed in 1935 and 1936 by Carl Orff, based on 24 poems from the medieval collection Carmina Burana. Its full Latin title is Carmina Burana: Cantiones profanae cantoribus et choris cantandae comitantibus instrumentis atque imaginibus magicis ("Songs of Beuern: Secular songs for singers and choruses to be sung together with instruments and magical images"). It was first performed by the Oper Frankfurt on 8 June 1937. It is part of Trionfi, a musical triptych that also includes Catulli Carmina and Trionfo di Afrodite. The first and last section of the piece are called "Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi" ("Fortune, Empress of the World") and start with the very well known "O Fortuna".